The NGT had earlier refused to stay the Environment Ministry's December 9 notification, which had exempted building and construction projects of all sizes from the process of environmental impact assessment (EIA) and prior environmental clearance before beginning construction. For smaller projects (less than 20,000 sq m) it even has a "self-declaration" clause, which will ensure issuance of permission from urban local bodies. For larger projects of more than 20,000 sq m size, the EC and building permission will be given by urban local bodies simultaneously in an "integrated format"